This suspect was driving down Aurora Avenue North on the rim of one tire, police said. He told officers he thought he could make it home. Most DUIs are misdemeanors, and in 2011, the Seattle City's Attorney's office, which handles misdemeanors, filed 1,498 DUI cases. But the city has only 30 probation officers to check on court-ordered conditions, such as ignition-interlock devices.

This suspect was driving down Aurora Avenue North on the rim of one tire, police said. He told officers he thought he could make it home. Most DUIs are misdemeanors, and in 2011, the Seattle City's Attorney's

Officers evaluate a DUI suspect stopped late last month on Aurora Avenue North. The man has been charged with misdemeanor DUI and has pleaded not guilty

Officers evaluate a DUI suspect stopped late last month on Aurora Avenue North. The man has been charged with misdemeanor DUI and has pleaded not guilty

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Seattle Police Officer Eric Michl escorts a DUI suspect into the North Precinct, on Friday, April 26, 2013. The young man was later charged with misdemeanor DUI and has pleaded not guilty.

Seattle Police Officer Eric Michl escorts a DUI suspect into the North Precinct, on Friday, April 26, 2013. The young man was later charged with misdemeanor DUI and has pleaded not guilty.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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"I think they're a great group of people doing the best they can with limited resources," Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl said of the city's 30 probation officers. "We need more resources."

"I think they're a great group of people doing the best they can with limited resources," Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl said of the city's 30 probation officers. "We need more resources."

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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North Precinct officers search the car of a man arrested for DUI late last month on Aurora Avenue North. The car was impounded.

North Precinct officers search the car of a man arrested for DUI late last month on Aurora Avenue North. The car was impounded.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Police said the suspected DUI driver was so drunk he kept going on the rim of one wheel. This is a picture from the scene late last month near North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North.

Police said the suspected DUI driver was so drunk he kept going on the rim of one wheel. This is a picture from the scene late last month near North 115th Street and Aurora Avenue North.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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An officer during an April 26 DUI stop on Aurora Avenue North.

An officer during an April 26 DUI stop on Aurora Avenue North.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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DUI specialist Eric Michl evaluates a man suspected of driving drunk in Sodo. The man completed field sobriety tests, including counting backward from 53 to 36, and was released after it was determined he was not drunk.

DUI specialist Eric Michl evaluates a man suspected of driving drunk in Sodo. The man completed field sobriety tests, including counting backward from 53 to 36, and was released after it was determined he was

Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl during the investigation of a man he arrested for drunken driving. The man was charged in Seattle Municipal Court and has pleaded not guilty.

Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl during the investigation of a man he arrested for drunken driving. The man was charged in Seattle Municipal Court and has pleaded not guilty.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Eric Michl, shown here on April 26, grew up in Seattle and is now the department's top DUI cop.

Eric Michl, shown here on April 26, grew up in Seattle and is now the department's top DUI cop.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Seattle DUI specialist Eric shown during a traffic stop in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. The driver was not drunk, but was ticketed for running a red light after Michl reviewed dash camera video.

Seattle DUI specialist Eric shown during a traffic stop in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. The driver was not drunk, but was ticketed for running a red light after Michl reviewed dash camera video.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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"Until we as a society agree that this is a bad thing to do and we're constantly mindful of that, it's just going to continue," Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl said of drunken driving cases.

"Until we as a society agree that this is a bad thing to do and we're constantly mindful of that, it's just going to continue," Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl said of drunken driving cases.

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl recalled a mother driving drunk with her toddler improperly buckled in a passenger seat. The woman was so tanked she couldn't complete field sobriety tests – or even stand up.

Seattle DUI specialist Eric Michl recalled a mother driving drunk with her toddler improperly buckled in a passenger seat. The woman was so tanked she couldn't complete field sobriety tests – or even stand

Drunken driving has been a bigger local issue than ever since March 25, the day police say repeat drunken driver Mark Mullan killed two pedestrians and injured a mother and her young child on a residential street in Wedgwood.

Police have warned of increased and more vigilant patrols, while victim advocate groups have told how drunken driving tears families apart. And still the caseload hasn't slowed.

Late Wednesday night, a woman was killed on an off-ramp from Interstate 5 in Seattle and four others in the car with her were rushed to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The driver was arrested for DUI and vehicular homicide.

The story is, unfortunately, not new. Seattle Police DUI Squad member Eric Michl recalled a mother, driving drunk, with her toddler improperly buckled in a passenger seat. The woman was so intoxicated she couldn't complete field sobriety tests – or even stand up.

Her case, like the Wedgwood fatality investigation that Michl also investigated, share a common problem: Drivers who failed to get a court-ordered, ignition-interlock device to prevent them from driving drunk.

The Wedgwood case has shocked the public into demanding tougher DUI penalties and lawmakers have promised action. On Sunday, state lawmakers reached a tentative agreement to overhaul DUI laws. Gov. Jay Inslee praised bipartisan support for the steps against drunken driving.

But new laws might not be the right answer, Michl said.

"We've got the laws," he said. "We just need the resources to enforce them."

Most DUIs are misdemeanors. In 2011, the Seattle City's Attorney's office, which handles misdemeanors, filed 1,498 DUI cases. The year before, there were 1,207. Cases that ended in a conviction required the drivers to meet with a city probation officer who is supposed to check that they're following court-ordered conditions, such as ignition-interlock devices.

But the city has only 30 probation officers, and they handle much more than just DUI cases.

"I think they're a great group of people doing the best they can with limited resources," Michl said. "We need more resources."

Having a more robust staff of probation officers to enforce the laws already on the books "would be the most effective deterrent to DUI," Michl said.

And because of an April 17 U.S. Supreme Court decision, police now have a longer delay obtaining blood evidence in DUI collisions that involve injuries. After that decision, the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys told police to get search warrants in all DUI cases where blood evidence is required – even vehicular homicide and vehicular assault cases where warrants were not previously required under the state constitution.

That recommendation came after the 8-1 ruling by the Supreme Court, saying police must obtain a search warrant. The case involved a Missouri man who was pulled over by a state trooper; when he refused to take a Breathalizer test, the trooper drove him to a hospital and ordered a blood draw. Police didn't obtain a warrant because they believed the time it would take to do so would have allowed the level of alcohol in the blood evidence to diminish.

Michl said there's also a problem with social acceptance of DUI. People who have driven after a few beers and made it home fine sometimes downplay the offense.

"Until we, as a society, agree that this is a bad thing to do and we're constantly mindful of that, it's just going to continue."

Michl said he doesn't look at his job in terms of numbers but rather as a way to keep people safe -- a way to keep people from suffering as John Hoberg's family and friends have.

Hoberg's crash happened Sept. 23, 1979, the fall of his senior year at Ingraham High School. He was the passenger in a 1968 Camaro going north on 320th Avenue Southeast -- a part of unincorporated King County.

The driver, a classmate, couldn't make a turn.

"I had been drinking prior to driving a car in which my friend was killed when I left the road," the driver wrote in court documents.

At 17, he pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in Juvenile Court.

Michl was with Ingraham classmates when he heard about the crash that killed their friend.

"A lot of us had never experienced anything like that before and it was upsetting," he said. "John's dad was never the same."

At Hoberg's funeral, his sister spoke about how she'd read stories to him as a kid, Michl said. Hoberg's father -- a Seattle police officer who was Officer Friendly on "The J. P. Patches Show" -- was devastated.

Later, he came to address the Ingraham student body about what happened and about the dangers of drunken driving.